Jim O’Brien, Co-founder OwnGuard Solutions
Jim O’Brien has been actively engaged in his personal safety and preparedness for the better part of the last 25+ years – everything from firearms to martial arts to hardening his home’s security to employing the ever powerful soft skills. Jim is a big proponent of practicing good situational awareness, avoiding potentially bad situations or areas, staying (and looking) alert, enforcing personal boundaries, and keeping one’s ego in check.
Jim first learned to shoot at a relatively young age going out with his dad and granddad. In his youth, he shot a lot of BBs and pellets, until he moved into a .22 and did some small game hunting along the way. Over time, he stopped hunting; and his interest grew into pistols and larger caliber center-fired rifles. Jim believes in our 2nd Amendment rights. At the same time, Jim firmly holds that with the right comes the responsibility and is a staunch supporter of the safe handling, care, and securing of firearms.
Jim’s foray into martial arts started in the mid-90s when he trained in a more traditional system with forms and patterns but no real contact. Wanting to find a more realistic self-defense option, he was introduced formally to Krav Maga (“krahv mah-GAH”) by a co-worker at a point. Jim found his home with Krav for a while, training with various schools across the country under many different instructors. While he has trained a little up through Brown Belt and has dabbled in multiple fighting styles, Jim officially obtained the level of Green Belt in Krav and also became a Level A instructor for a short while before moving on.
Jim took an early interest in learning the basics of CPR and first-aid going back to his time in the Boy Scouts of America. Much later, he rekindled his interest just so he would know some basics of what he could do for himself or even possibly someone else. He re-certifies in CPR and first-aid every 2 years and has for some time now. He has also included other programs dealing more specifically with severe bleeding and a whole myriad of emergency medical and trauma situations.
In recent past, he has been reminded of the value of having the right supplies on hand and enough of them. While he does not consider himself a “prepper” by any means (not that there is a thing wrong with prepping), he is more conscious about getting the right items to have for possible SHTF situations, including food, general supplies, and first-aid and trauma gear.
Jim believes being safer and prepared is better and that we are all our own first-responders. He wants to inspire others to take their personal safety and preparedness more seriously; so they can be more self-sufficient and not as dependent on others or on a system that can easily fail. His goal is to support others in their pursuit to take a more pro-active role in their own and their family’s safety and preparedness.
Certifications, Qualifications, and Experiences:
- American College of Surgeons Committee on Trauma Bleeding Control v. 1.0 Course (Stop the Bleed) – Course completed
- American Red Cross First Aid, CPR, AED for Adult and Infant – Certified
- NAEMT Tactical Combat Casualty Care (TCCC) All Service Members Level 1 – Certified
- Solo Southeast Wilderness Emergency Medicine – Wilderness First Aid – Certified
- Concealed Carry Course – Completed
- Multiple, multi-level defensive pistol courses – Completed
- Carbine Rifle course – Completed
- NRA Certified Instructor Basic Pistol – Certified
- NRA Range Safety Officer – Certified
- Member of local county’s Community Emergency Response Team (CERT)
- Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service Search and Rescue in Community Disasters – Course completed
- Citizen’s Police Academy for local county including 24 hours of ride-along time – Completed
- Black Belt Choi Kwang Do
- Green Belt Krav Maga
- Level A Krav Maga Instructor (expired)
- Fit to Fight Active Killer Defense – Courses completed
Other notable mentions:
- Active Georgia Weapons Carry License
- “Realities of Violence Educational Foundations,” KPC Self Defense (Randy King Live) – Course completed
- “Understanding Violence,” Emory University – Course completed
- “Protector’s Symposium 2.0 Global Summit,” The Protector Nation – Course completed
- Served as a floor warden in a corporate environment for 2 years
- HAM (Amateur) Radio – Technician license
- Volunteer (CERT), working with multiple first-responder organizations, for multiple Active Shooter/Killer training scenarios including an elementary school, a local shopping mall, and a large metropolitan mass-transit train station
- Host of the world-wide The Self-Initiative Project Podcast (related article)
Jim likes shooting regularly, both pistol and more recently, long distance rifle. When he’s not stuck behind a computer, he enjoys getting outdoors as well as practicing with his HAM radios. Jim enjoys learning new things; and he is looking forward to working with Denis to help others become safer and better prepared.